A Journey Through Time
by BadWolfGirlx
Summary: Clara is feeling curious and decides to explore the TARDIS. She discovers some of the Doctor's dearest companions' old bedrooms. Starring Eleven and Clara. Comfort, friendship and little bit of fluff!
1. Forgotten Memories

_Chapter 1_

It was the early morning and Clara, as usual, was already up and ready. A ghost of a smile settled on her lips as she entered the console room, excited for the day's adventure. As she walked up the steps, she realised that she couldn't see the Doctor anywhere. She frowned as she scanned the room. _That's funny_, she thought,_ he's always in here when I wake up_.

"Morning, Clara!" came the Doctor's jovial voice, making her jump in surprise. She looked around, but couldn't quite put her finger on where he was.

"Where are you?" she said, placing her hands on her hips as she peered around the room.

"I'm up-," he began, but before he could finish his sentence, he shouted, "Clara watch out!"

Clara flinched as a spanner hit the TARDIS floor about two feet away from her with a huge crash.

"Doctor! What the hell was that for?" she said, looking up to see the Doctor hanging upside down from a harness on the ceiling. He was fiddling with one of the spotlights, which she noticed were mostly all turned off.

"Sorry, didn't mean to let that go! Anyway, no point dwelling on the past since your head's still intact," he said, while he tried to remove the cover of the spotlight with his sonic screwdriver.

"How on earth did you get up there?" she said, puzzled at the lack of climbing aids around.

He replied as he zapped at the cables with his sonic screwdriver. "Well, funny story. I _did_ have a ladder, but I think the TARDIS got a bit offended with the joke I told her, so she knocked it down. It's over there on the floor," he said, pointing at the area by the front door. "If you wouldn't mind picking it up," he said, but Clara was already on it. She propped it up against the the top of the console.

"And no telling anymore rude jokes to your TARDIS next time, mister," she said, with an accusing look.

"Yeah, yeah, I won't," he said. Clara wasn't convinced at his reply so she just shook her head and smiled.

"So, where we going today?" she said.

"Well, I'm not sure we'll be able to do anything. You see, I need to give the TARDIS a bit of a service. We might need to float around in the vortex for a day or two, just while I can get things fixed and sorted," he said.

"Oh, really? Shame, 'cause I'm in the mood for an adventure," she said, feeling a bit let down.

"I tell you what, why don't you go and explore the TARDIS? When we went to the centre that time, you only saw a snapshot of what's to be seen here!" he said.

"Alright then, that doesn't sound like a bad idea!"

"Okay! Have fun!" the Doctor shouted behind her as she left the console room.

Clara went through the door and down one of the main corridors, first passing her bedroom, then passing the Doctor's bedroom and finally to the end of the passage. There were three routes. The first one had white, clinical-looking walls, which Clara recognised as the corridor that led to the medical bay. The one straight ahead looked the same as the one she was currently in, but it had a soft green glow. She didn't recognise the third one, which had narrower, purple walls, and looked more inviting. So, she decided to wander down that one. As soon as she'd entered that corridor, she felt saddened, though she didn't know why.

As she stepped past one door, it slowly opened, as if it was inviting her in. She turned around and peered inside. It was a bedroom. _That's strange_, she thought, _the Doctor and I are the only ones on board the TARDIS_. She looked at the door. It had a sign on it, which read 'Donna'. She stepped into the room. In some ways, it looked like a normal bedroom; it had cream carpeted floor, a bed, a wardrobe, a chest of drawers, a bedside table and a window. But, in other ways, Clara could tell she was on a spaceship. For starters, the deep red starry bedroom walls were curved, rather like the console room walls, making it look futuristic. The furniture also followed the curved, metallic theme. Clara's eyes drifted over the windowsill, which had a small collection of strange looking ornaments, presumably collected from different planets. Above, the window looked out onto the surface of some kind of planet, with snow covered hills and a dainty blue sky.

Looking around the room again, Clara noticed it was a bit messy, but quite homely at the same time. Clothes were still draped over the end of the bed - Donna clearly hadn't expected to leave. She walked over to the chest of drawers. Above it hung a pin board with a collection of photos of a grinning, messy haired man in a brown pinstripe suit next to a feisty looking redhead. Clara smiled as she it dawned on her that this was the Doctor and Donna.

Then, an open hardback book on top of the chest of drawers caught her eye. She looked at it more closely and saw that it was hand written in beautiful script letters. She began to read the open page.

_Donna,__  
_

_I could've written 'Dear Donna' or something like that, but I know that's not your thing - in fact, you'd have probably teased me for days! If you were here still, anyway. I just wanted to say... You were the greatest friend I could have asked for. You helped me so much after everything I've been through, and I wouldn't have missed our adventures for the world. While I know you can never remember our travels, I will never forget them. Thank you for saving us all. I'm so sorry we couldn't save your memories._

_Your friend,_

_The Doctor_

Clara saw drops of what she thought were tears across the page. She swallowed and bit her lip to stop herself from adding to the droplets in the book. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to have read that message, but she couldn't help wondering what had happened that could make Donna forget travelling with the Doctor.

She figured it was some kind of diary, so she flipped backwards to the front page to find out exactly. She found a page covered with different handwriting, a messier scrawl and began to read.

_Well, I guess I've got a diary now. Silly idea, really. That daft old Doctor is making me do this - god knows why. Anyway, let's get to the point: this is Donna Noble and this is my TARDIS log._

She giggled at her attitude. She decided she rather liked this Donna. As much as she wanted to, Clara didn't read any more of what Donna had written, as she wanted her to keep her privacy. Clara looked back up at the photos and gave a sad sigh. She hoped she'd never have to forget being on the TARDIS.

Clara left the room. She closed the door softly behind her and continued her way down the corridor, wondering how many others there had been.

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you for reading. It would be awesome if you could follow, favourite and leave a review too. Next stop, Amy and Rory's room!


	2. Raggedy Man, Goodbye

_In the end, Clara left the room. She closed the door softly behind her and continued her way down the corridor, wondering how many others there had been._

__Chapter 2__

It was moments before Clara reached the next door, which opened for her as she approached, just like the last one had. This one had a sign on that read 'Amy and Rory'. Below their names was the word 'Pond' which had been crossed out and the word 'Williams' had taken its place.

She stepped inside to reveal a room larger than the one before. This one had a large four poster double bed in the middle. There was all the usual bedroom furniture; a wardrobe, a dresser, a chest of drawers and bedside tables. The colour scheme was white and different shades of blue. The white carpet felt soft and comforting beneath Clara's feet as she walked. In the middle of the floor was a small rug, shaped as a pond, with lily pads and flowers sewn in to complete the picture. Along the walls were shelves, lined with models and coloured pictures of the TARDIS and the Doctor, which looked as if they'd been made by a young child. Clara grinned and wondered how old Amy and Rory had been when they'd started travelling with the Doctor.

Clara let her hand run along the pale blue walls and then rested her fingers on top of the biggest TARDIS model. As she did so, she could have sworn she heard voices. She jumped and turned around, pulling her hand away from the mini TARDIS, and the voices stopped. Well, the voices weren't coming from behind her, so they must have been something to do with the model. Slowly, she placed her hand back onto it, and let the sounds of happy voices filter into her head. She made out a Scottish woman's voice, then an English man, then the Doctor. She listened closely.

"Um, Doctor, this time could we lose the bunkbeds?" the voice with the Scottish accent said, presumably Amy.

"No! Bunkbeds are cool. A bed. With a ladder. You can't beat that," the Doctor said.

Clara smiled and glanced at the double bed, which must have replaced the bunk beds eventually. She figured she must be hearing old echoes of memories from around the TARDIS.

She listened again.

First, came the Doctor's voice. "Two thousand years, Rory. You won't even sleep. You'll be conscious every second. It would drive you mad."

"Will she be safer if I stay? Look me in the eye and tell me she wouldn't be safer," the English man, Rory, said.

_Who's 'she'?_ Clara thought. _Could it be Amy? They were married, after all, and there was no sign of her voice._

"Rory, you-" the Doctor started, before being cut off.

"Answer me!" Rory shouted.

"Yes. Obviously."

"Then how could I leave her?"

This time, the Doctor sounded softer, as if he was giving in. "Why do you have to be so... human?"

"Because right now I'm not."

Clara pulled her hand away from the mini TARDIS, piecing together what she'd just heard. Rory was deciding to wait for someone, presumably Amy, for two thousand years. He'd said that he wasn't human. Clara just comprehend waiting for that length of time. Rory must've been strong. Very strong.

Once again, Clara felt compelled to put her hand on the TARDIS and find out more about Amy and Rory. She knew she shouldn't but something was telling her too. She let her fingers touch the fading blue paint and listened in.

"It'll be fine. I know it will. I'll be with him like I should be. Me and Rory together," Amy said.

_What'll be fine?_ Clara thought, _she sounds like she's crying_.

"Stop it! Just, just, stop it!" came the Doctor's voice.

"Melody. You look after him. And you be a good girl and you look after him," she said.

"You are creating fixed time. I will never be able to see you again," the Doctor said.

"I'll be fine. I'll be with him."

"Amy. Please. Just come back into the TARDIS, Come along, Pond. Please."

"Raggedy Man," she said, her voice heart wrenchingly sad. "Goodbye."

The Doctor's anguished, saddening cries were heard next. Clara couldn't cope. She snatched her hand away from the mini TARDIS. She stared at the floor and swallowed as tears stung her eyes. Had she just heard Amy's final moments with the Doctor? And who was Melody? She couldn't get the Doctor's voice out of her head. He sounded so distressed. It was awful. She didn't dare touch the mini TARDIS model again, she'd heard enough.

Clara walked to the other side of the room, but just before she left, she saw photos which had been pasted to the back of the door. There was a woman with lovely ginger hair and a smiling brown haired man in many of the photos. In some they were with the Doctor, and in others, she recognised Professor River Song. They all looked so happy. One photo in particular caught her attention and Clara laughed as she realised they were sat on a dinosaur.

She smiled as she left the room, glad to leave it on a good note.


	3. I Love You

_She smiled as she left the room, glad to leave it on a good note._

_Chapter 3_

Just as Clara was considering exploring a different corridor in fear of seeing too much she shouldn't, yet another door opened for her. This one read 'Rose Tyler'. Clara felt drawn to it, like she was being beckoned inside by the TARDIS. After hesitating, she gave in and stepped inside.

Inside, she found a nice sized room which had a deep red and white colour scheme. There was a small double bed against the far wall with a glossy dark brown wooden headboard which had two entwined roses engraved in the middle. The wardrobe, dresser and other pieces of furniture were made of the same glossy, rich brown wood. On one wall there was a full length mirror which had a red rose placed on top of it.

Clara walked around the room on the fluffy white carpet, and noticed that there were many photos on the walls of this room, stuck on neatly and orderly. Some of the photos had been printed much larger and framed. In one of the biggest framed pictures, which hung above the bed, was a photo of the same Doctor as the one as it was with Donna, holding hands with a blonde girl, which Clara thought must be Rose, sat on a branch up an extremely tall tree. The tree looked unearthly and beautiful, and it towered above the others, which were hugged in a delicate blue mist. The Doctor and Rose looked so happy together. They looked closer than Clara and the Doctor were, and she guessed that they'd been travelling together for a long time. But even then, Clara could never imagine holding hands with him like that. No, that wouldn't happen. Rose must have been very special.

She walked over to the dresser, where a hair brush and some make up lay, as if Rose hadn't got around to putting things back before an adventure or trip out. On the corner of the dresser mirror, a piece of paper that had been torn from a notebook was pinned to it. Clara got closer until she could read the writing - the same handwriting as the note to Donna from the Doctor.

_Dearest Rose,  
I'm so sorry for loosing you. You were absolutely brilliant. I just want you back, so I can tell you how much you mean to me and have our adventures together like it should be. I'm sorry for being a coward, never saying those three words that I've always meant and always will. I love you, Rose Tyler. You are beautiful and I'll never forget you.  
Love from  
The Doctor xx_

Clara swallowed and this time, she let the tears fall. The Doctor had loved Rose, yet he'd never told her. He must have hated himself when he lost her.

Clara gazed out the window. It looked out onto a lonely beach, where there were no people to be seen. The sun shone down on it and she noticed there was a run down wooden sign near the window, which read 'Bad Wolf Bay'.

For a second, Clara thought she saw some figures on the beach, as if the TARDIS window was showing her another snippet of the past. But they disappeared as quickly as they'd appeared, and they weren't coming back.

She took a deep breath and looked around the room. Everyone's travels with the Doctor seemed to end in tragedy. Would her own ending be the same? She'd almost died jumping into the Doctor's time stream to save him, yet she was still here. Maybe something worse was heading her way.

Clara headed to the door and crept out. She peered down the corridor, seeing many more doors. She shook her head. She didn't want to see any more, she just couldn't. So, she turned on her heel and ran back down the corridor. She didn't stop until she reached the swimming pool, where she jumped in, fully clothed, and lay there floating for a while.


	4. Hugs and Tears

**A/N:** Well, here we are - the last chapter! I hope you've enjoyed our little journey with Clara around the TARDIS.

* * *

_She didn't stop until she reached the swimming pool, where she jumped in, fully clothed, and lay there floating for a while._

_Chapter 4_

After getting dried and changed, Clara walked into the console room to find the Doctor sat on a stair, tinkering with a strange looking silver object which was presumably part of the TARDIS. She went over and sat down next to him, resting her head on his upper arm.

"Doctor, I think you need a hug," Clara said softly.

"Do I? Oh, I hadn't noticed," the Doctor said, the hint of smile on his lips.

"Yes, you do. After all you've lost I think you deserve at least that much."

He smiled. "Alright then." They wrapped their arms around each other and cuddled for a few minutes, listening to the calm humming of the TARDIS. The time passed slowly and Clara let the faces of the companions she'd seen float through her mind. Is that all she'd be one day? A memory of the Doctor's? Because that was all that those people were. A brilliant, happy memory with a sad ending. A silent tear slide down Clara's cheek. He'd lost so many people. He'd had so much pain.

When the Doctor pulled out of their embrace, he took one of Clara's hand in his two palms, clearly having noticed her upset. "Where did you go earlier?" he said, his voice gentle and comforting.

"I..." she said, wondering what to say. Was it wrong that she'd been looking around rooms that didn't belong to her? She would just have to tell him. It wouldn't be right to lie. "I went down this one darker corridor with purple walls and as I walking down it, a door opened just as I went by. I went inside and found a bedroom. The same thing happened as I went down the corridor, more and more rooms opened up. I know about Amy and Rory and Donna and...and Rose."

The Doctor's face fell, and he closed his eyes, as if holding back tears.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think, I shouldn't have been in there," she said, feeling ashamed.

"No, no, don't be sorry, the doors opened for you. That corridor is usually very hidden, I think the TARDIS moved it closer to where you were because she wanted you to find out about them."

A moment of silence passed, before Clara spoke again. "There were more, weren't there, Doctor? I didn't look in most of the rooms, I just couldn't."

He took a deep breath. "Yes. There were _so_ many others. Ian, Peri, Ace, Susan, Adric, Romana, Sarah Jane, just to name a few. They all meant so much to me, and always will. You mean a lot to me too, Clara. Don't you go forgetting that," he said.

Clara leant in and gave him another cuddle. They smiled at each other.

"My impossible girl."


End file.
